5 Cinematic Qualities Of Zoya Akhtar That Make Her The Filmmaker We Truly NEED!
Updated : March 08, 2019 05:33 PM IST
From a routine formulaic zone of cinema that has over the years produced filmmakers with distinct abilities and tastes, Zoya Akhtar was introduced as someone special. Back in 2009 when the young lady decided to be a storyteller much like her brother, few seemed skeptical, some were sure of her caliber and the rest were probably just excited.
The girl who comes from the family that is a writing institution in itself much was expected out of Zoya following her credentials of being Javed Akhtar and Honey Irani’s daughter and Farhan Akhtar’s sister. However, when she made her debut film, it was a very clear and loud expression of her arrival and her style of filmmaking.
Having made films like Luck By Chance, Zindagi Na Milegi Dobara nd Dil Dhadakne Do, here are 5 cinematic qualities of Zoya Akhtar that make her the filmmaker we truly need:
Showcasing Riches Yet Reality
For whatever little duration she’s been here, Zoya has been accused of being a director of the riches. Whether it is about taking us all on an affluent Spain road trip in ZNMD to a lavish cruise sailing through the Europe, the fact of the matter is that Zoya has indeed exposed the hypocrisy prevalent in our society. The relationship conflicts in ZNMD to rich families sort off trading off their happiness to have a social status, Zoya has been absolutely expressive with her storytelling.
She Believes In Cinematic Aesthetics & Not Melodrama
Anybody who’s closely followed the style she has adapted as a filmmaker, it is very true to the essence of filmmaking we need. While she mostly refrains from using background score to evoke or emote expressions, her candid execution of a scene also makes us feel like we are watching a real story. The only song in ZNMD that had to be lip synced was sung by no playback singer but the actors themselves. Senorita, you know what we are talking about!
She Caters To Both Sections of the Audience
Another excellent element about Zoya Akhtar’s style of filmmaking is how she never falters the line of being too offbeat or too mainstream at any point. While a commercial section of the audience would identify itself with characters going crazy in the La Tomatina festival, an offbeat cinema lover would appreciate how subtly she exposes the hypocrisy of Bollywood through Luck By Chance. Whichever situation you throw, she has a move to not disappoint you at all.
She Understands That Cinema Means Entertainment
Despite being too curbed in the region of entertainment with her not so vibrant style of filmmaking, Zoya has always made sure to deliver entertainment through her products. She along with her co-writer Reema Kagti has made sure their narration never gets coherent and out of order. Despite her style of narration, Zoya has never limited herself in serving entertainment.
She Knows Her Limits
Zoya knows her limits, period! While you wouldn’t normally see her speaking Hindi or being too politically moved, her cinematic creations also reflect of the world she has lived in or the world she knows. Her attempts at genuinely setting up her stories amongst the riches, tells what she can do best in her own comfort zone. If someday we start expecting her to craft a Gangs of Wasseypur or a Paan Singh Tomar, that’s when the disaster would really strike.
She has a vocation to bring the kind of life she knows on screen and craft different kinds of stories around it. While she obviously can’t fill in for Farhan Akhtar who unfortunately has no time for direction, Zoya Akhtar is still doing her bit of share! Looking forward to more!